Charles-Barclay, Geens, Blummenfelt, Knibb, and More Dissect Their 70.3 Worlds Performances

It was a new venue in Spain, but the weekend’s Ironman 70.3 World Championship professional races didn’t fail to deliver. With the women competing on Saturday and the men on Sunday, there were plenty of storylines from Andalucia as the action worked its way to a thrilling climax.

Women’s Race Recap Men’s Race Recap

We caught up with the professionals post-race, where we heard how Jelle Geens won back-to-back titles despite nearly ending his race on the first corner on the bike, and how Lucy Charles-Barclay defied the odds to recover not just from her Hawaii meltdown, but family trauma in the aftermath.

We found out Taylor Knibb’s three golden rules for race day, how she turned to Ironman legend Paula Newby-Fraser for advice on whether she should race, and how she needs special dispensation from anti-doping authorities to even be here following medical treatment in Kona.

We also learned whether the Pro Series top prize of $200,000 eased race-day disappointment for Kat Matthews and Kristian Blummenfelt, plus how USA’s leading male Seth Rider regretted his decision to follow the rules at the start of a chaotic bike leg.

Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR), 2025 Ironman 70.3 World Champion

The British favorite bounced back from Hawaii disappointment to regain the title she won in 2021, despite a challenging time for her family.

Did you think you had a chance before the start?

Coming into this race, I didn’t have much expectation. It was just about seeing how the body came around and trying to enjoy the course. We had such stunning scenery out there.

When I rode the course initially on a training ride, I thought: “Whatever happens here, this is such an amazing course, and I’ll be so glad I’m not missing out on it.”

There’s always self-doubt when things don’t go right. I came into Kona in possibly the best shape of my career, and it didn’t come together. Coming into this race, everyone else had written me off. I was like: “There’s no pressure, let’s see what happens.” It’s been a couple of years since my last world title, so it feels extra special to do it here today.

Were you concerned after having to be pulled off the course in Hawaii?

We didn’t want a repeat of Kona, for sure. Our coach, Dan [Lorang], was like: “Please don’t repeat Kona, make sure you both [including Taylor Knibb, who Lorang also coaches] get to the finish line in one piece.” Thankfully, we managed to do that. It was about staying in my own head, own race, and own pace, and seeing what happened. Luckily, I felt pretty solid the whole run and confident I could get the job done today.

Did you enjoy the two-way battle for the win?

I always knew Taylor would be solid on the uphills [on the bike], but I felt I had the slight edge on the downhills. It reminded me of Lanzarote. There were some crosswinds out there. I felt that if I could stay with Taylor, it could be my ticket to get the win today, and it paid off.

I didn’t want to push early on the run. There’s a mix of terrain, and I love that. I run on a lot of trails and tried to enjoy the sandy part, which was tough with some dips in it. I managed to roll my ankle once, but luckily it was fine. The crowd was incredible, particularly in the town area. I think that lifted me.

It proves you can turn it around when things don’t go to plan. The disappointment of Hawaii was only four weeks ago, and we had a lot of other things going on as well, so I forgot about [Kona] and had to go into real life, the real world, and just try and support my family as much as I could around the training.

What will the win mean to you and the family?

Hopefully, it’s an injection of positivity in what’s been a really tough time. We lost Reece’s grandad, who was a huge fan of mine. When I won in Kona [in 2023], the first thing I did was go and see him and give him my medal, and he had that next to his chair the whole time. He was so proud of Reece and me, and he definitely helped me out there today. I felt his presence, and it allowed me to have wings throughout the race.

Jelle Geens (BEL), 2025 Ironman 70.3 World Champion

The Belgian defended his title by edging out Kristian Blummenfelt despite crashing at the first roundabout on the bike.

You looked strong, but how did you feel out on the course?

I felt quite vulnerable out there. There were definitely some hard moments. When Magnus [Ditlev] or Rico [Bogen] were pushing the downhills, it was hard for me, but I could come back on the uphills. On the run, my hip was hurting quite a bit at the start, but luckily, it loosened off. Because the run got so tactical, it wasn’t fast. I tried on a few uphills, but I couldn’t drop Kristian [Blummenfelt], so I knew it would come down to the final few kilometers or even a sprint finish.

Was the plan always to take the inside line for the sprint?

That was definitely my goal, because it got quite narrow, and we were touching elbows. I really wanted to be first to that U-turn because it was crucial. I tried to ease up a bit and then really accelerate coming out. My legs were quite lactic, but luckily Kristian’s were as well.

What happened with the crash?

I slipped out and crashed into the first right corner on the roundabout. The bike was a bit messed up, and at the top of the climb, I had to stop and pull my rear derailleur back because it was bent. I couldn’t go on my smallest gear because I was hitting my disc wheel.

With so many riders ahead of you at that point, were you worried?

It felt like we were with a million guys out of the water, and it was chaotic because everyone was overtaking each other. I tried to use the uphill to get myself in a good position. I had a bad swim and I think that’s why I also crashed, I was thinking: “I had a sh*t swim and need to get to the front!” and I didn’t pay attention at the roundabout.

Was this race always the priority?

I tried to frontload the season, getting four T100 races done so I could skip a few in preparation for this race. After my last T100 in September, we took a couple of days easy and then went to Andorra and had super good prep for five to six weeks. I feel like I’m in the best shape of the year for sure. Because I crashed, I didn’t have my bike computer, so I don’t know what my pace or power was on the bike, but on the run, I ran similar to Taupo, but it felt quite a lot smoother – like I could have run a minute faster had I needed to.

Can you contrast the preparation from last year to this year?

Last October, we came home following T100 Las Vegas and packed up the whole house in Girona, said goodbye to everyone, and then flew to Australia. We stayed with my partner Kate’s parents until [the 70.3 worlds in] Taupo, and we also bought a house at that time, so it was quite a hectic period. My friends will say I didn’t sound very optimistic before Taupo. This time I was a lot more confident in my training and felt like everything went smoothly,

And finally, we understand your two-year-old daughter was here to cheer you on?

Both Sienna and Kate have been with me the whole prep, but also my parents have helped us because it is quite a lot otherwise with me training the whole day. Sienna won’t remember it in 10 years but I think it’ll be cool to look back and say that she could come and watch for two world champ wins.

Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR), Ironman Pro Series winner

The Norwegian lost out in a dramatic sprint finish to Jelle Geens, but still secured the points to ensure he would win the big-money Ironman Pro Series.

Do you think you got the tactics wrong on the day?

I was saving myself for the last 1.5K, and you get one chance at a tactic like that. Obviously, it didn’t work. The second option would have been going earlier, but I’ll never know if that would have worked because Jelle was still strong. I’m obviously disappointed to only get a podium and not get a title. We train to become world champions, not just medalists.

What words did you exchange in the latter part of the half marathon?

He wanted me to take the lead, and I said I was waiting for the guys behind to have more guys to sprint against!

How does this disappointment rate against other Ironman misses?

In a way, you are too tired to be disappointed in Ironman, but when you’re doing a half [70.3], you have enough energy to feel disappointed. This gives me motivation for next year to nail the race strategy in the build-up to be able to get a world championship title again, because it’s been a while.

Despite defeat, did you enjoy the experience?

When you are in Spain, they turn up with big numbers of people cheering you on, and the atmosphere alongside the whole run course was epic. It carries you around. Part of the reason we spend so much time training in Spain is because of the culture.

Can you still get faster?

If I want to win, I have to improve. Or I’m going backward.

How much of the Pro Series has been a focus?

If I could swap out the Pro Series for a world championship title, I would. But $200,000 is also quite nice to have in the bank.

What will you do for 2026?

It will be an early-season start. I’m planning to do New Zealand, Australia, Oceanside, and Texas, so four races, quite tight together, so I better have a good winter of training. I’m not sure whether I’ll do Nice 70.3 worlds. It’s tricky when the half is before the full, so I haven’t decided yet.

Are you ruling out an Olympic return in Los Angeles in 2028?

Yes. We tried to get a deal with the federation, but we didn’t manage to. The plan was to go to the World Cup in Rome, but we weren’t able to agree, but luckily we have Ironman. Los Angeles is completely done now. Unless the federation changes their point of view, there’s no way I will come back for that.

Kat Matthews (GBR), Ironman Pro Series winner

The Brit was sidelined by a calf strain on the half-marathon just as she looked set to challenge the leaders, but previous races meant she still had enough points to win the Pro Series title.

Did you know there might be a calf issue leading in?

About two weeks ago, I had a small strain as I got back into running post Kona. I rehabbed it, run-walked, and was pain-free for about 10 days. I took two days off running, but unfortunately, clearly, the load was too much, and I felt it go after about 2K, and it got progressively worse. There was no function in it, and I knew that was not going to get me to the finish.

Do you know why it flared up?

I haven’t thought about it for too long. There was the travel, and I committed to enjoying Kona after the race, but everything was fine. I’ve learned in the past with calf injuries that sometimes you can’t do anything about them.

What were your emotions when it happened?

Someone asked me at 3K if I was OK, and I said I was dealing with a $70k issue here! But within minutes, it came to my realization that Solveig was more than 2 minutes from the front, so [the Pro Series] was secure. [Solveig Lovseth needed to finish within 100 seconds of the winner to take the series. She eventually placed sixth, nearly 10 minutes behind.]

Was it smart planning that meant a DNF here was not terminal for retaining the Pro Series?

Because I’d done the “safety” race [70.3 Zell am See], it meant that pulling out was a possibility. It will definitely factor into our year next year. We were maybe going to risk it with a five-race Pro Series but now we’ll definitely include the extra race again. [The Pro Series takes the best five scores from Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races in the season].

Taylor Knibb (USA), top American, second place

The three-time defending champion finished second to Charles-Barclay after a last-minute decision to race following her heat stress episode in Hawaii.

How would you rate that performance?

We’ll score that at 93%. It’s the lowest end of an A, not an A plus, but still a 4.0.

I was just trying to not get pulled from my process, which was: Rule number one: Health first. If anything feels off, I was told to stop. Rule number two: Get across the finish line. Standing up. Normally. Do whatever you can to do that. No crawling. No collapsing at the finish line. Rule number three: See how well you can do [laughs].

Did coach Dan Lorang tell you not to race?

He never said that directly. He said this is a big risk and he doesn’t normally like to go this close to the line, but I think he knew that I wanted to race, so we worked together.

To make our decision, we did three days of quality last week. The first one was a swim, the second was a run – 6x1K at 3:45 per kilometer on the treadmill – and the bike was similar. The previous week when I had done some [exercise], I would tank a little bit, so you could tell I wasn’t recovered fully.

Was it difficult to resume training post-Hawaii?

The hardest thing was my first ride back. I was so scared, but I read something that said doing the thing you fear undoes the fear, so I didn’t really race with any fear today. I can say that at no point during the race did I feel that something was not normal and I was going to have to pull out. It was like freedom. I was listening to my body and just riding.

Did you turn to anyone else for advice?

I emailed eight-time Ironman World Champion Paula Newby-Fraser [who collapsed spectacularly in the heat in Hawaii in 1995] and asked: “Is there anything you’d recommend, and were you ever the same after?” She said: “My best racing years were after,” So I was like: “Ok, game on!” That was a lot of peace of mind because I think it is such an unknown.

On requiring a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for having an IV infusion in Hawaii:

I have applied retroactively for a TUE. It hasn’t officially been approved yet, but I am allowed to race. I got an IV of 1,000ml in the medical tent in Kona. [IV infusions or injections of over 100ml are typically prohibited under anti-doping rules]. It is such a small island; they took me to the medical tent, not the hospital, because they wanted me in ice tubs, it was closer, and they had more people there [to support].

Seth Rider (USA), top American, 14th place

Finished top American in 14th place but had a frustrating day after falling victim to playing fair on the bike.

How did your race go?

I’m disappointed, to be honest. I came in expecting a lot more, and physically, today I was capable of a lot more as well.

What went wrong?

The beginning of the bike was crazy. Everyone was passing where there was no place to pass, and none of the athletes were respecting the rules. I haven’t done so many of these [races], so I was cautious. I thought the officials were going to be giving out penalties, so I tried to respect the rules, and in the end, from everyone that cheated, no one got a penalty.

I got shuffled pretty far down the group on the first climb, and I got caught on the wrong side of the split and spent a lot of the bike leading the chase group, trying to push. I felt strong, but lost a lot of time, especially on the downhills, when Magus [Ditlev] was on the front. Tactically, I didn’t play my cards right, and maybe I respected the rules a bit too much. On the run, I felt pretty good and tried to run at an even pace and not blow up.

Has it left you feeling frustrated?

For sure, 100%, I definitely had the power to go with the front group; a few guys respected the rules, but a lot passed when you shouldn’t pass. There was a point on the first hill where I kept the light [ahead of me] on yellow, and then the 20 lights ahead of that were all flashing red. Every one of them.

What are your plans moving forward?

I’m probably going to finish my season now and have an off-season and next season do pretty similar, split my time between WTCS [World Triathlon Championship Series] and throw in the occasional 70.3.